A Chorus Line Review

Messages: A pretty powerful message: What you do, you do for love. And that’s what sustains when the day-to-day grind seems overwhelming and difficult.

Role models: Nearly everyone on the cast is a role model in one form or the other: the actress who tasted success but isn’t too proud to go back to her roots; the boy who decided he could dance as well as, or even better than, his sister and isn’t daunted by other people’s expectations; the choreographer who reminds everyone to “be yourself.” Some characters appear somewhat traumatized by their past, but they have found an outlet to set them free: dancing.

Violence: Not an issue

Sex: A whole song talking about what a guy’s “first time” making love was like, and what subsequent couplings were like. Another song mentions “t-ts and ass,” and how a woman is measured primarily by looks and not talent, necessitating breast implants and a nose job so she can trade on her looks. Another song about physical transformations that happen when one is a teenager. A dancer sings about how he learned about sex. Also, some suggestive dance moves.

Language: “Bullsh-t,” “friggin,” “sh-t,” “g-dd-mn,” and the F-word.

Consumerism: Not an issue

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue